LL.M. executive track students study exclusively with other LL.M. students. They complete mandatory courses in Fundamentals of U.S. Law and Legal Research and Writing, and then may customize their studies by choosing from a curated subset of Berkeley Law’s most popular courses. Students may focus their studies to earn a Certificate of Specialization and/or to meet the educational requirements to become eligible to register for the California Bar Examination.
Courses in the LL.M. executive track primarily focus on business law, the intersection of law & technology, and bar-related courses.
Students may only take courses in the semesters in which they are enrolled.
Full-Time Summer Semester in Berkeley
Students come to Berkeley for 8-10 weeks of coursework in the summer semester. All of the business and technology law “greatest hits” are taught in the summer semester. Each course lasts 1 to 3 weeks in duration, all followed immediately by a final exam. Due to the intensive format and course scheduling conflicts, students are able to enroll in an average of 1 to 3 classes at a time. This is an intensive, full-time, academic experience.
Part-Time Online Spring and Fall Semesters
In the LL.M. executive track (remote + summer), in addition to a full-time summer semester, you will take two semesters of part-time online coursework. Each course offered during these semesters is specifically designed to be taken remotely, for students who cannot be away from work and/or personal commitments for longer periods of time.
Core Curriculum
1. Fundamentals of U.S. Law
Students study the sources of U.S. law and the structure of the U.S. court system. Students also learn the fundamentals of the case method of legal education and statutory construction, and study how cases progress through the American court system. The course will also explore topics of judicial review, federalism, separation of powers, and the practical and political limitations of these concepts. Students will then use case analysis skills to examine landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases.
2. Legal Research & Writing
In this class, each student researches and writes a 15- to 20-page research memorandum addressing a compelling issue in contemporary law. Through this writing exercise students learn predictive legal reasoning. Students also complete other, shorter assignments throughout the term, including an introduction to Bluebook citation. Research instruction is integrated into the writing assignments, and includes mainly on-line but also a few traditional book-based resources. Students receive extensive written comments and attend one-on-one conferences on their papers.
Students in the LL.M. executive track remote + summer timeline also take a 1-unit online workshop in the fall semester, where they will revise and complete the final draft of their Capstone writing project. The project will be a paper of 20-23 pages in length on an assigned topic. Students will have submitted a draft of this paper during their summer semester LL.M. Legal Research & Writing course. Students will be expected to implement the feedback that they received during the summer course and revise their paper accordingly to meet the grading criteria.
Elective Curriculum
Visit Berkeley Law’s Schedule of Classes for a full and current listing of courses.
To help you find coursework that aligns with your interests, you can filter courses by category or professor. For example, you can search specifically for LL.M.-only classes in the fall and spring semesters under the category dropdown list. In the summer semester, Two Summer LL.M. Executive track students also have the option to filter for courses that are tailored to their area of interest. This can be accessed through the semester links at the top of the page.
Please keep in mind that course offerings are subject to change, and we encourage you to use the Executive track Program Structure information to help guide your search so your LL.M. journey stays on your chosen timeline.